Who's your mama!?!?!

First, I should apologize to my loyal readers for the gap in postings. I am sorry if I disappointed you or created some kind of gap in your life. Please accept my sincere apologies. With that said...SUCK IT UP. Okay. On to the good stuff.

I kicked some major ass tonight. Major. I wasn't sure if I was going to make it very far since the Reuben from lunch was sitting pretty darn heavy in my gut. Layered on top of the Reuben were some Reese's Pieces, a Reese's peanut butter egg, a few Swedish fish, and a Butterfinger thing. I surely had enough energy, but was it going to make me hurl somewhere along the way? I put on my Mizuno's, strapped down the girls, grabbed the iPod and out the door I went. It was chilly. The sun was out and it was gorgeous, but it was brisk. I had dressed well and never overheated or froze. That was a good start. With the Mission Impossible 2 soundtrack kicking through my ears I was determined to complete the route that I had mapped for last night, but blew off.

The run was JAM PACKED with hills. I would say that probably up and down were even. And just for the record I DID NOT walk any of the hills. When in Wellsville I was panting and dying to make it up a hill. Tonight I did at least four decent hills. Most are long and gradual, but they are almost worst than just straight up. So anyway... It took me a little while to get into the groove, but somewhere along the way I got this warped friggin' thought of "This feels readlly good." I was overall comfortable, but concerned about the tightness in my Achilles. I still worry that my plantar fasciitis is going to return and that wouldn't make me happy.

The first part of the run was through a residential neighborhood with gorgeous old historic houses. This is also the street I live on. Turn left and now I am in a any-town USA neighborhood. Turn left again and it's more of the same except houses are bigger. Cross through an intersection and now you are in blue collar town. Construction trucks, dogs in fences, broken sidewalks just waiting to grab your ankle and take you down. Across a bride with a brief look at the river below. Nice. Take another left and I was in a seedy part of town. Not surprisingly this is the road you have to take to get to Stupid Boy's house out of Auburn. The sidewalks are awful. The houses are disgusting, but there is constant traffic and few people on the street so I am not horribly concerned about it. Take another left and now I am running down the Main Street, down a short hill followed by a VERY long gradual hill. This was a long stretch. Eventually, I take another left and I am in an okay part. This is where I was screwed. I couldn't remember the street names that I had mapped out and wasn't sure where I was or where I was going. In true Jennifer form, I ended up in the ghetto. I mean the Auburn projects. Granted, it wasn't like the projects in Atlanta, but it still was the projects. As I was running (at a faster pace) through this neighborhood I am getting cat called and guys are cranking their heads to get a better look as they drive by. I was freaked out, ut the adrenaline did me well. I made it out, hit my street, took a left and high tailed it back to my apartment.

Almost two hours later I am still freezing. My nipples feel like they have frost bite. It is a weird phenomena. I think I need to start strapping the girls down a little better. Ouch.

As I was strutting along I was thinking "The first mile was for Jeff...the second mile was for Charlie...the third mile..." and then I stopped that train of thought and instead started with "The first mile was for making it on my own. The second mile was for making my legs stronger...the third mile was my therapy for the day...the fourth mile was for..." I realized that I had reached a point where running had shifted as my outlet for anger to my time to really be proud of myself and keep working hard. I am seeing results (as slow as they feel) in many areas of my life. I am happy where I am headed. Look to the right and see what I accomplished today. I am proud. And I didn't walk. Any. Of. It. Kick ass.

I talked to Bill today, who is my potential new house mate. He seems nice enough and we are meeting Saturday afternoon to see if his boxer, Mitchell and Maggie get along. Of course, we also need to see if he and I get along. No worries. I am taking at least one person with me. Good thinking, huh?

Hmmm....what else? Thinking that is about it for now. I am pooped. I have taken Motrin and am thinking I will be sore tomorrow. I am also thinking it was worth it.

PS - Katie was inducted into momhood yesterday. She had to scrub poop off Emily's face.. *GAG*

Random thoughts...

Okay, before I sat down to write I had a billion things to say (of course). Now I have started and I am not sure where to start! No way am I speechless.

Getting in shape is a weird thing. I realized tonight that my favorite pair of running tights are getting too big...like baggy big. They still feel nice but because they are big they don't give the support that they are supposed to anymore. It's a good thing, but at the same time... Same thing with regular clothes. Sure, it is fun to buy new ones IF you have the money to do it. I had some really cute pants and shorts from last year that I am fully expecting to be too big this summer. I am trying to buy one thing here and one thing there, but it is hard to guess sizes and if I am going to keep going down it is dumb to buy too much.

OH! I know what I was going to say! I sent in my deposit to the University of Rochester today. I guess that makes it official! I am going back to school. YEAH! That was something significant today.

Crazy Charlie called me last night. He now has a girlfriend. Good for him. He was trying to get me to be involved in some shenanigans and I wasn't having it. That's just wrong. Long story short I told him thanks for toughening me up. I needed it. He told me he had a girlfriend via text message and then asked if I was okay. I said I was perfectly fine and apparently he didn't believe me because he called. Again I told him that I was really okay with it and he said that he just needed to hear my voice to make sure it was okay. He actually sounded a little disappointed that I really didn't care. He told me it would be a while before I was ready to move on and have another relationship. Give me a break! We weren't even dating. Fruitcake.

Had a good run on the treadmill tonight. I was hoping to run outside today, but I came home and made myself do a bit of cleaning. By the time I was ready to go it was pouring rain. Anyway, I hit the dreadmill.

Tomorrow will be a horrible day I am predicting. There was a girl fight in the office today and I am happy to say that I was not involved AT ALL. I wasn't even there! I am proud that I was not a miner of conflict. Go me! Anyway, I meet with a coordinator tomorrow that is kind of like an emu. Emu are confused creatures and will stop and not move if they run into a weed because they think they can't go through/over/around it. She is kind of like that. The issue we are discussing tomorrow is one that we have been going over and over and over... Just do your freakin' jab and call it a day Emu Lady! Not difficult. This is not rocket science.

Okay, have some work to do to get ready for tomorrow and I am sleepy. Was to sleep late last night and am hoping to catch up on some of it tonight.

Ta ta for tonight!

P.S. Did I mention that I am in looooooooove with my Mizuno Wave Creation 8's. They are so good to me!

How is the weekend already over?

This weekend just FLEW by. It could have been that never ending wedding shower I went to yesterday... Holy mackerel. There were at least 65 people there (no exaggeration) and it lasted a little over FOUR HOURS with most of the time being the opening of the never ending gifts. I think she got three shower curtains, including one that was all shamrocks. Included with this gift was a leprechaun toilet seat cover and bath rugs. There was also a shamrock garden flag and some other shamrock/leprechaun type things. The kicker is that Katie isn't Irish and neither is her fiance. Any person that takes the time to redecorate their bathroom for the holidays is just pathological. Granted. I like to change a shower curtain every now and then but for each holiday? Who wants to go to the bathroom with leprechauns watching? Anyway, it was never ending, but it was great to see my family.

Rather than taking the NYS Thruway I went through the Finger Lakes and landed in Hammondsport at Pleasant Valley winery. This is where I bought two bottles of Chocolate Lab wine and two bottles of delicious champagne (the only champagne I will drink). Always a nice stop.

Amy and I did dinner at Chili's today and I got suckered into a Presidente margarita. They are huge, but watered down. Chili's has such delicious food and what did I pick? A black bean burger and a salad. It was tasty, though! After dinner we went and saw Reign Over Me. Adam Sandler was truly fantastic as was the movie. Well worth seeing...

After a nice long conversation with Jeff and Linda and a cup of Starbucks Mud Pie ice cream (because I've been craving it from the Beef Haus and this was as close as I could come...) I am off to bed. Mags isn't feeling so hot with a suspected UTI. She is the queen of UTI's. My poor girl. Okay...off to bed!

A scatter brained blog.

Let me first say TGIF. What a long, busy week it was. Much was accomplished, but unfortunately none of it was really my work. That means that I will have an insane week next week. I will be playing "mom" to a coordinator and an assistant since I am pretty sure they are going to rip each other's hair out. We have an assistant vying for control without an inkling of what needs to happen or why. It looks like another firing is in the imminent future. Just my favorite thing to do. Yuck.

I was incredibly petty today at the end of the workday. Our executive director is out on medical leave for six weeks and this was only week one. We have our own power struggle happening in our office. There is a woman who is just incredibly annoying and attempts to micro-manage whenever she can. She makes up stories and then blurts them out in front of people. Example: We had a consultant here this week who lead the focus groups yesterday and a strategic planning group today. This incredibly annoying woman has a crush on this man. Anyway, at the end of the day as the consultant is getting ready to leave, the annoying one (whom we call Atilla) says to him,"After ____ completed her first conference call with you we asked her what she thought you looked like." This same Atilla announced in another meeting, "She (a coworker) is feeling like a preying mantis today, so be careful." She announced to the crowd that our coworker had PMS (And no. It was not me.) Anyway, she picks her nose and eats it, but tries to do it on the sly. We all see it. She was cleaning out her ear with her finger today and then picked out a couple of nuts from a bowl and handed them to another coworker. We aren't allowed to eat meat off a bone in front of her (i.e. no chicken wings) because of some weird experience she had in a past part of her life. We may not heat fish in the microwave. We may not burn candles that are a scent she does not like. I got in trouble one day for popping bubble wrap in the office. She has said things like, "I don't usually hire someone and then take two weeks off." (in reference to my position when I started - she is not my supervisor.)

I think that I have set the stage. So after she and her one little minion on the office left the rest of us convened to decompress and thank god that the wicked witch had left the building. We were standing in "her" office which she shares with our Executive Director. She insisted that her desk be placed where it is and as a result our ED looks like Atilla's secretary when you walk in. So back on track. We were standing in the office and I was standing by her chair. I am not sure what it was, but something that was said just really irritated me. Before I knew it I was dumping water on her desk chair. Sure. It was petty, but it has the whole weekend to dry and whatever is left will be soaked up by her hippo sized rump. Did I say TGIF?

My apartment is currently the cat ghetto. Every night Scout chases Nala and does this stupid half whining/half purring thing. He then jumps on her back and bites the back of her neck until he decides it is time to yank out clumps of fur. This happens every freakin' night. Scout will tear across the bed and wake me when he is doing his little thing.

I hit the gym tonight for 30 minutes on the elliptical and a set of heavier weights. It was such a gorgeous day and I felt guilty that I was working out indoors. When I got home Mags and I went for just under a three mile walk. She is sleepy tonight.

I have been craving Mud Pie from the Beef Haus in Wellsville. I have even been calling Maggie "Maggie Mud Pie." The closest thing I can come to is Starbucks Mud Pie ice cream. Never fear. I controlled myself and had maybe half a cup. It really is deelish, though. Maybe it is what is for breakfast in the morning - before I have to head out the door for a wedding shower (dry heave).

I got an email today notifying me to register for summer classes at the U of R. I have not sent back my acceptance yet and need to do so before the 30th. I figure that I will send it out on Monday. I am still kicking around the idea of taking one or two summer classes, but I won't get financial aid so I may as well just wait until the fall. In any case it was pretty exciting. The courses offered literally fit on two pages (one page for Summer A session and one for Summer B session). This is remarkably different from Penn State where you basically sat up all night waiting for the registration lines to open and you called incessantly until you got through. We also had to work out a system with your roommate or find another phone in an underclassmen's room who wasn't able to register yet. The email did specify that registration begins at 12:20 a.m. Monday morning, so must be some classes fill fairly quickly.

I think that is it? It is 12:40 and I should be asleep at this point. I ate that freakin' Mud Pie ice cream just before I came to bed. Could be the caffeine hyping me all up...

Having fun with an old buddy...

It has been a couple of weeks since running has felt like much fun. I am happy to say that it felt like fun tonight. I am determined to break this friggin' weight plateau if it kills me (and it just might). I headed to the Y and planned on hitting the treadmill. The elevated track just doesn't do it for me anymore and the air up there stinks. There are usually basketball or volleyball games going on and it just stinks.

Anyway....

I hit the treadmill and planned on doing 45 minutes. I put my Nike+ on basic and went for it. After a ten minute warm-up I started to get bored and knew that I needed to do something to keep my interest. I needed a game. Each minute I raised the speed by .1 mph. It doesn't sound like much, but I went from 5.3 mph to 6.0 mph and then back down minute by minute. After a recovery at 5.2 I turned it back up to 5.5 and increased the mill by .1 every 30 seconds until I hit 6.5. Once I hit 6.5 I decreased by .1 every 30 seconds until 5.5. After a short walking recovery I turned it back up to 5.5 to finish the last few minutes. It was actually fun because I had to pay attention to what I was doing. 30 seconds isn't too long and it let me change it up. I need to start playing with the incline, too, but I am afraid that I am going to encourage a flare up of plantar fasciitis. OUCH. I have finally accepted that I can't (and shouldn't) try to run every day. The plan at this point is to run one day, cross train and weights the next, and rest on the third day. We will see if it kick starts my metabolism again. Here's to hoping!

It was an interesting day at work. We were traveling around the county with a consultant who was leading focus groups of middle and high schoolers regarding a survey they took in October. Specifically he was asking questions about the way they answered. One question was "What kinds of things happen at school that make you believe the school doesn't care about you?" Answers included everything from bad cafeteria food to teachers not taking into consideration how all students learn - not being flexible in their teaching techniques. Another comment included that teachers too often teach through homework rather than in the classroom. How many of us wen through that? Go home and read chapter six because we will discuss it tomorrow. Yeah. Been there. Done that.

One question in particular really got an insightful answer. The question was: "Why don't you communicate with your parents?" One high school girl started by explaining that she had been exploring the poverty rate of the county, which she cited as 45%. She then followed by saying that she thinks many parents are intimidated by their child when the child reaches a higher level of achievement than the parent. There was more to the answer, but I thought that was pretty amazing.

I was so looking forward to the strawberry shortcake I made tonight, but good lord my gut hurts. I think I will be skipping this one. Is it really possible that taco soup moves that quickly through the system? Oy vay!

I gotta run. Holy schills.

Much respect...

Even if I was a G.W. fan (which I am not and never will be) I would still respect and admire the Dixie Chicks for what they said, how they handled it, and the album they turned out as a result. I just finished watching "Shut Up & Sing," the documentary of the Dixie Chicks journey through the aftermath of Natalie Maine's comments at their 2003 London show about being embarrassed that the president was from Texas - specifically her hometown of Lubbock. From being banned from country radio to receiving death threats, the girls held true to their beliefs and integrity. Even when the other two could have bailed on Natalie they went through it as a group, never apologizing for what was said, where it was said, or why it was said. I admire that. The final result was one HELL of a personal album including the successful "Not Ready to Make Nice" which got me through more than one pissed off episode or two this summer. I know not everyone will agree and that is okay by me. I think I have always been semi-Dixie Chick like. You may not like what I say, but at least I am saying it.

Anyway...

Work has been busy and the week is only going to get more crazy. I am up to my eyeballs planning summer program, finishing plans for the remainder of the school year, setting up meetings, trainings, picnics, etc... It feels like there is no end in sight, but the good news is that we are ACTING rather than REACTING. That has taken a lot of time and patience to get there. Happy to be visiting.

So I did not report my run for yesterday. After three days off I was pretty rusty and feeling the time off. I did about 3.5 miles in an unremarkable, nonreport worthy time and pace. Tonight was 30 minutes on the elliptical and a round of weights. I am getting ready to seriously throw the scale through a window or worse. Yesterday I was apparently four pounds lighter than I was today. WTF? It drives me batty, but I am addicted to that stupid scale.

It is my goal to wear a size 12 skirt tomorrow that I have never worn. I bought it in Canada a looooong time ago during the the last go round of weight loss and I bought it smaller thinking that I was going to get there. I turned into a fatty fat fat and never reached that size. I tried it on this morning and it zipped. Not only did it zip, but it also did not scream for its dear life. I will try to work it into an outfit tomorrow. Cross your fingers! (This may not seem like a big deal, however I was a size 20 early last summer). Boooya!

I also have a lead on a possible housing situation in Rochester. I got an email outlining a roommate situation that includes all utilities, garage parking, a fenced in yard, a dog sitter that comes twice a day (Mag would have a new boxer friend), all new stainless steel appliances and granite counter top in the kitchen, laundry, wireless internet, cable, etc... The most attractive thing is the fenced in yard and dog sitter. How awesome would that be? Good stuff. Here is the catch. It is with a guy. That is a little weird, but I am betting that I would get along better with a male than a female. We are in negotiations and I don't know what will happen. I would have to pack up a bunch of stuff again and put it all in storage since I would have two bedrooms for my use. I can't fit all of my stuff in that area. I got rid of soooo much stuff when I moved from Wellsville and I can't downsize much more. By the time that I am out on my own again I will have nothing but my Fiesta Ware and dog. Ugh.

Okay...anyway. It's bedtime. I will try to be better with the blog. I am a busy girl.

Are you a runner?

"Are you a runner?"
"Yes."
"These are AMAZING shoes."
"They sure are! I have had three pair of them. I strayed to another model, but never will again!"
"They've improved them even more than before! Can you believe it?"
"I can't wait to take them for a spin!"

This was an actual conversation today. By a guy in the shoe department and I as I was standing there holding the display version of the Mizuno Wave Creation 8. I am seriously in love with this shoe. it is ugly as sin and I should not have complained that it was orange, because now they are even uglier. I don't care, though. I am in love. Serious love.

This weekend was...interesting? I wasn't sure if I would make it to the Wellsville are or not because of the snow storm that smacked us Friday night. Fortunately, for my hair and me I was able to travel and got the cut Saturday afternoon. Thank goodness!

The original plan was to do dinner and then go out in honor of St. Pat's Day. Things don't always work out, though and that plan was ditched. I did get to have dinner with Cristin Winegard-Hopkins and Katie at the Cuba Bistro, though. That place is just simply deelish. They always have great specials and unique combinations of food (think chicken coated in Corn Flakes with a caramel apple sauce and mashed red potatoes with cheddar cheese and garlic.) It is a take your own bottle kind of place and so we did. I was introduced to a new Pleasant Valley wine (Keuka Lake winery) called "Chocolate Lab." Do you think I would really pass it up. It was so good!

According to the bottle " Chocolate Lab is unabashedly unsophisticated with the familiar fruitiness of the lush, ripe native grapes from which it was made. With a delightful hint of chocolate, it is as unpretentious and approchable as a friendly puppy. Enjoy it chilled or on the rocks. It is truly an "anytime" fun wine that puts on no airs." Doesn't that just warm the cockles of your heart? The after taste is very chocolate and sticks around for a while. I was hoping to find a picture of the label online, but no such luck. Think the face of a choc puppy and there you have it.

I was able to stop and see Aunt Alice for a bit today. She was pretty surprised. Next weekend is Katie Jane's bridal shower, so I will be headed back to Hornell again next weekend.

I have an offer to potentially share an apartment with a couple in West Henrietta. They are looking for someone to share a 2 bedroom apartment and the most attractive thing is that dogs are allowed and the rent is $295. I am not all that sure that I can share a place with people, but maybe I need to make the sacrifice to help get through school?

I also found a Health teacher position listed for the Brighton School District. It did say Health/PE preferred, but it was specifically listed as "Health Teacher." That would only be about 10 minutes from school and could work out well. I am going to try to get an application in by the end of the week. Keep your fingers crossed. Not thrilled about being back in the classroom, but maybe it won't be quite so bad if it is a means to an end.

Guess that's it for now. Looking forward to my bed tonight!

Experiencing technical difficulties...

So I have not totally abandoned my blog. I typically blog from home, but I think some cheap bastard secured their wireless network so that legitimate bloggers like myself can't take advantage of it. It is now late in the day on Friday afternoon and I have no significant blog posted for today.

Quickly - Mag is at work with me today again. She is tired.

Katie can't get to her house due to flood.

It appears that St. Pat's is going to be low key this year since the weather sucks and Katie's house is flooded. Damn it, Jim!

The kicker is that I am supposed to have a haircut tomorrow at 3:00 in Wellsville. Why do I have a feeling I will be canceling?

I also got my acceptance package today from the U of R. They gave me no financial aid. Cheap bastards.

All hail the Queen! (The British Columbia one)

So, my friend up north and a little to the left called and reported in yesterday. These conversations are rarely boring and always provide some kind of great blogging material (not that I've used much up to this point.) I am purposely blogging about the Chinook because he said that he was happy I didn't smear him on the public blog site. Oh contrare, mon frere!

First, this random phone number appears on my caller id. No idea who it is and I a slightly annoyed because I've been getting texts messages and calls in the middle of the night from people I don't know. Well, apparently Canadian Boy had to get a new cell phone because his old one doesn't work deep in the "bush." I think he said this new phone was made of a bigger pine cone and more tin foil than the last one, so it gets better reception in British Columbia. Phew. The technology of our friends to the north is really coming along!

He was telling about his journey to his son's new place in a ski resort in BC. Never one to miss out on a traffic ticket, he managed to log three in a twenty-four hour period. The first was failure to come to a complete stop and was apparently given by a weathered, used-up Indian (his words, not mine...I would have said Eskimo). He wasn't interested in getting lucky with her so didn't even bother trying to get out of that ticket.

The second (and this is my favorite) was for failure to wear a seat belt. No doubt that when he was getting in his truck he had a coffee in one hand and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth making very little capability to put on a seat belt. He scurried to get the seat belt on before the Mountie got to 'im, but there was just one little snag in the plan. The seat belt was hanging OUT OF THE DOOR. Kind of hard to fake that one.

The third was for backing into someone's $60,000 truck. The ticket given for this one was given by one of the above mentioned officers of the law. Nice.

My vote at this point is to revoke the truck and put him on a moped with a Marvin the Martian helmet. He also reports that he has been swimming. I, of course, envision him on a scooter with a Marvin helmet, Speedos, white tube socks and running shoes. Nothing but. Ahhh.... lovely.

He is working hard on getting in touch with nature and has taken on the spirit of a bear. He knows forages daily for granola bars, berries, and twigs. I am thinking the digestion must be fairly regular at this point. So tell us, Mountain Boy. Does the bear shit in the woods?

He is anxiously awaiting the return of the weekend beavers. 'Nuff said.

In all seriousness (not that the above wasn't serious) where he is at looks completely gorgeous. The above picture is his view from somewhere. I am completely jealous and more determined now to make a life in Alaska someday. He said that the clouds and in town and it is just amazing. I believe it. Did I mention that I am jealous?

So the conversation was a good part of my day.

My run last night was intervals. Yuck. I don't like them. Completed on a treadmill I finished, but not very strong. I was sweating like a beast, though. My hair was stuck to my forehead if that tells you anything. Results are published to the right in their usual spot. I was five minutes and some in before I remembered to turn on my Nike+, so the distance was probably closer to 4 miles. Anyway...

Not a lot happening here today. Gearing up for the weekend. It is St. Pat's Day. Did you know that?

PS: 8 months until my birthday....Just thought I would let you know!

It's been a pretty chill kind of day. Maggie and I (okay, mostly me) got out of bed later than usual this morning. I got a phone call at 8:10 a.m. from Mary from Alfred (think "the lake" from this summer). It is weird how the world works.

A couple of days ago I emailed my tenants and told them that I would be starting school in the fall and needed to list the house. As luck (?) would have it, the female tenant works with Alfred Mary. (By the way, Mary has had dinner at my house with the new tenants. How bizarre is that?) Anyway, female tenant told Mary that I was starting school and selling my house. Mary called this morning asking about buying the house. I am not sure how I feel about this, but I know that I need to move on. She and her husband were pre-approved for a mortgage last week so theoretically they are ready to go. It's just weird. I want things to stop being connected. I want things to not rear their ugly heads when I am doing well.

After finally dragging my body out of bed I took Mags out to play ball. While playing ball, I talked with Kristin with the twins on the phone for a bit. She and the babes sound great. Rumor has it they are growing quickly and are now real live baby sized! They were a little demanding on their mama when we were talking, but much like us they have a lot to say.

I was planning for a six miler today, but wasn't going to be horribly disappointed if I didn't make it. Auburn does not have fantastic running routes, so it's been hard to find anything over three miles. Anyway, I got dressed and headed to the Y to hit the treadmill. It was so nice heading down the driveway that I decided it would be an outside run day. I had tracked a route yesterday that was about five-ish miles, but filled with hills. Long, gradual hills. Since it was a n out and back loop there was no avoiding them. I hit one big one getting to the major road and did well. I got onto the four lane (don't worry...it's "only" 30mph) and hit the shoulder. Gradual uphill followed by a gradual downhill. Turned the traffic circle and headed back up the hill on the other side of the road. Finished up with a decent sized hill. It wasn't long into the run before I had off my track jacket and was running in a sleeveless shirt. It felt great. On the way back in, it started to rain but I didn't give up. How could I really? I was a couple of miles from home. Anyway, I finished running when I hit the Y. I did a quick set of weights and called it a workout. All in all I didn't do too bad considering that the wind was pretty strong and there were plenty of hills. (See workout summary to the left if you are just dying to know exactly how I did.)

I am a spitter while running. I don't care if a car is coming or someone is coming down the sidewalk. For some reason running really produces a ton of phlegm, so you have to hack it up. My nose was slightly chilly and started to run. I looked around to make sure no one was coming and I let it fly. I did. I farmer blew. Not just one nostril, but two. I would NEVER do this while running with a group or in a race, but I had to let it rip today. I can't say that I am anxious to do it again, but it served a purpose today.

This evening is wicked crazy with Mags snoring on the couch and "Hogan Knows Best" on the tv. It's really going to get super exciting later when I pull out the Frosty Paws and Haagen Dazs.

I know. Pretty crazy for a 32 year old single girl on a Saturday night!

They like me! They really really like me!!

I was incredibly thrilled to get the following email yesterday:

March 8, 2007

To: Jennifer George

Dear Jennifer,

Congratulations! On behalf of the faculty and administration of the Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development, I am pleased to inform you of your admission to the School. This offer is testimony to your academic accomplishments thus far and to our conviction that you have the capability and motivation to succeed in our program.

Financial aid decisions are still in process, and will be included in the official offer letter you will receive within the next two weeks. The admission offer will include materials regarding registration, health insurance, etc. Please take the time to read through the whole packet, as it addresses many questions posed by new students.

I wish you sincere congratulations on being selected as a Warner School student. Best wishes as you begin graduate studies and embark on a new chapter of your academic life.

Kindest regards,
Michelle M. Ames
Director of Admissions

YAHOO! I was pretty excited, especially since the announcement was completely unexpected. I had gotten an email last week saying that the admissions committee would meet on 3/7 and financial aid on 3/8 and that letters would be mailed by 3/19. I was STUNNED to open this email yesterday and it complete caught me off guard. Holy cow! I let out a shriek and then started stomping my feet and clapping like a chimpanzee on crack. What an idiot. Basically most of the office came running to see what the commotion was. Nothing much. Just admitted into a doctoral program! *phew*

It is a weird kind of let down now that I know. The anticipation is cool and sucks all at the same time. Now I shift into semi-panic mode. Where am I going to live? How am I going to pay for it? Am I going to continue with work? Will I have enough time for Maggie and running? Will I have time to sleep? I know that it will all work itself out.

The night before last I had another dream that involved swans. There were two white swans swimming on a glassy pond in the forest. Apparently swans mean a prosperous outlook and delightful experiences. Whatever. I will take it.

Maggie is here at work with me today. My coworker gave her red peppers, french fries, part of a fish sandwich and TARTAR SAUCE. What do you suppose happened? Oh yeah. She barfed all over the floor. So, as I was cleaning it up it only seemed right to make my own barfing noises while she finished eating her lunch. I need to go finish scrubbing the floor. It's so disgusting.

Hoping for a five-ish mile run tonight. My right knee is a little sore, but I took last night off so I am back on the wagon tonight.

No big weekend plans. Just hanging around Auburn. Blockbuster notified me that they have mailed Curious George (the movie), so I am sure that will be the highlight of my weekend. I hope I don't get too out of control. Somebody stop me!

An odd dream...

I typically don't remember my dreams, but as of late I have been having many and have been remembering them. Last week I had several that involved Gunnar. Last night I had one that involved the guy from my last "relationship." I've never dreamt about him, so I am not entirely sure what prompted this little unconscious wandering.

I dreamt that we were with his friends (which we typically were) and that we were in a car and I was driving (which I typically was). We were headed to a party (which is where we were typically headed) in an unknown town for St. Patrick's Day. The streets were filled with people partying and he was hanging with his friends, ignoring me. I was going to go to the party, but realized there was a trailer full of junk that I needed to empty before I could go to the party. I began emptying the junk and I am not sure where it went. That is pretty much the basis of the dream.

Of course, we could pick this apart without the help of a book, however Susan loaned me some dream books last week when I mentioned that I had been remembering them more frequently. This morning I looked up as many of the things as I could, and they are pretty obvious.

Of course my driving symbolized how I was moving through life. Am I being driven or am I the driver? In the dream I was the driver and I believe that in my life I AM the driver. The junk represented outdated attitudes or unfinished business that I have been carrying around or unable to resolve (geee...do ya think?). I think it was a good sign that I was emptying the junk. I am going to take that as a sign of continued forward movement. I'll bet you'll never guess about the party... Of course it symbolized a celebration that would be upcoming. The book said that over 50% of men studied had been unknowingly been expecting a child when they dreamt of a celebration. Just to set the record straight I am not expecting. It's impossible since I have stuck to the no Y chromosome philosophy (which seems to be working really well for me, actually). ANYWAY...the admissions committee at the University of Rochester meet today and the Financial Aid committee meet tomorrow. I hope the party dream was timely and truly symbolic.

That's it. Just wanted to share before I forgot all of it.

Buh bye...good riddance...not sure why I hold onto things that are so obviously wrong for so ridiculously long.

Return of the barracuda.

The snow day only partially worked. All of the schools in Seneca County were closed, but The Barracuda and her gang were still hanging around and came in around 10:00. I found this description of a barracuda online and it seems appropriate at this point:

Barracudas occur both singly and in schools around reefs, but also appear in open seas. They are voracious predators and hunt using a classic example of lie-in-wait or ambush. They rely on surprise and short bursts of speed (up to 27mph (43 km/h)[2]) to overrun their prey, sacrificing maneuverability.

The larger barracuda are more or less solitary in their habits. Young and half-grown fish frequently congregate in shoals. Their food is composed almost totally of fishes of all kinds. Large barracudas, when gorged, may attempt to herd a shoal of prey fish in shallow water, where they guard over them until they are ready for another meal.

This is pretty similar to how our "technical assistant" works. Sometimes she comes alone, but this time she decided to bring her school. One really small one and one REALLY REALLY big one (I'm not kidding). She is indeed a voracious predator, waiting for a chance to pounce on something whether it is more vulnerable or not. She barks her commands/demands/reprimands, in forceful bursts that aren't always so short. Sorry about my luck. She definitely seriously enjoys figuratively running over her prey, but could run them over physically as well. I am not an easy one to run over and it did take a couple of drive forwards and back upwards to finally run me over, but she did it.

She will feed on fish of all kinds - everything from Executive Directors to Assistant Site Coordinators and everything in between. When she gets in a feeding frenzy things get ugly and she gets gleeful. She does attempt to shoal prey into shallow water and hovers over until she can attack. She said today (and I quote) "Well, Jennifer never calls me!" Oh yes. Waiting and watching and getting ready to eat.

I tried to sit and be quiet and let her flail. I really did. I sat and I felt the anger and the defensiveness rising to the surface, but I tried to just brush it off and not take it to me. That usually doesn't work well for me. When I am feeling threatened and/or wronged I can not hold my thoughts as much as I try. I admit that it can be a liability in both my personal and professional life. Anyway, she was coming at me again and again and again regarding an issue that she was WAY off base. I finally could no longer take the one sided accusations against me and I let it fly. I felt the tremble in my throat and the stinging in my eyes. Dammit!

I cried. I smacked my hands and spoke in a direct way. I looked that barracuda in the eye and told her I was tired of her seeing things one sided and nothing being the right answer to anything she asked. I was tired of defending a program that I have brought a long way in three months. I am pissed that I have inherited a crappy program with crappy staff. I ave done what I can in the time that I have had with the people whom I have. Just for the record I did not sob or heave or hyperventilate. It was that mad angry cry that so many of you are familiar with. Of course after I said what I said, I shut down and that was the end of my day with the barracuda.

She may be a barracuda, but I am ultimately the mighty fisherman. She can come and feed on my staff and I, but I am the one who can pull her ass out of the water when I don't renew her contract. Eat that you mean, nasty pig. Don't think that I won't. It is my plan and I will get my way on this one.

I should have known that today would be no better than yesterday. When I awoke, both Seneca and Cayuga Counties were in states of emergency. The ED called and said that we should come in when the state was lifted. Not long after the call, the state was lifted and I was headed to work. At the second stoplight I literally came this ( ) close to sliding into a Red Bull Energy Drink delivery truck. THANK GOD I did not hit that stupid van. That really would have sucked.

After work I headed to the Y and the elliptical machine. I figured the knees and hip could use a break from the impact of running. So, anyway, here I am minding my business on the elliptical when 12 minutes into a 40 minute workout my iPod battery dies. Argh. Okay. I can deal. it's no huge thang. I managed to finish up and then do a circuit on the Nautilus. After that I was finally headed home.

I actually "cooked" tonight making some chicken for a spinach salad. Stuffed.

Now I am hanging on the couch with the Magpie drinking an Ellicottville Brewing Company blueberry wheat beer. How long until summer?

My life as a turtle.

I got a very pleasant surprise from Mama Kristin Hillman yesterday afternoon! She sent me pictures of my visit with the babies. Please notice how thrilled Nicholas is to be in my arms...

I would have thought that the double chin would have been gone by now. That drives me NUTS!

Katie challenged me to an 8 minute mile today just to see what it feels like. Shaa! As if. Fat chance. Wasn't happening. Maybe I could run an eight minute mile if one mile was all that I did. Given the day that I had at work today, though, I needed much more than one mile. I am slow. I just am. I admit it and am trying to embrace that fact.

I headed to the YMCA tonight with the goal of breaking a 30 minute 5K. I have seemed to have some kind of block that I could not break a 30 minute 5K. Frustrating! So, I hopped onto the treadmill and set it at a 6.6. Considering that I hang somewhere around 5.5 or 5.8 at the highest, 6.6 was speedy. It felt like my legs would fly off my body. I stayed at this pace for about 13 minutes and then lowered it to a 6.4. At some point I did lower all the way to a 5.5, but eventually got back up to a pretty steady 6.4 and ended the last 400m at 7.0. I am sure you are completely bored now. What I am saying is that I was running my ass off, literally. It felt good and I was pushing hard. I finished the 5K in 29'17. At least I broke the 30 minute barrier. I also chopped two minutes and one second from my last 5K. I consider that to be significant. I guess I will take it.

Work was kind of like hell today. Our "technical assistant" who resembles a beluga whale but acts like a pit bull is in town for - get this -THREE days. It was ugly this morning with her pointing fingers at me accusing me of setting her up. I don't know. Don't ask. She was all kinds of annoyed that we had asked for written reports (imagine that!) and that I hadn't given her all of the information that she needed for the context she was working in (what?). She comes traveling from downstate with a thermal cooler full of Tab soda and an entire bag of Werther's that she sits and crunches as she barks at me. I couldn't make this stuff up. She has to have a special chair and go to the special restaurant for her special garlic chicken wings which are disgusting to look at let alone watch her eat. It is like a vulture hovering over a dead raccoon picking it apart. I can hardly wait for tomorrow morning. Let's hope for a snow day. Please dear God dump six feet of snow on us. I went to church this weekend, that's gotta count for something!

Mom is now officially living back in Pennsylvania and has christened the new house with her first fall, including a head smash against the driveway. That's my mom. Something to look forward to...

I am currently watching Wife Swap and am once again happy that I am single. I think that giving up the Y chromosome for Lent was a great idea!

By the way....if I don't post tomorrow it is because I died in the night from Maggie's silent-but-deadlies. Good lord. You would think she's been out scavening like a vulture on a raccoon. Gag.

A party in the Old First Ward.

Today was the Buffalo Old First Ward Shamrock Run. The mood was festive. The pack was large. The wind was cold. Really really cold. Had it not been for the wind it may have been a great mid-winter kind of day, but the wind was just absolutely brutal. Holy cold. It was the kind of wind that literally takes your breath away and I had big problems with it. There were times that I was running with my head sideways trying to catch air without sucking in huge gusts.

I am not making excuses, but I am relatively sure that the strong winds contributed to the nasty side stitch I caught probably around half a mile or three-quarters of a mile in. It was the worst cramp that I have ever had and for a minute or two absolute nausea swept my gut. I thou gt I was going to lose it. I stopped and walked a bit trying to take deep breaths in and really exhaling as long and hard as I could. That does help, but it also adds time to the clock, which I didn't want to do. I am thinking that I added at least 45 seconds to my time (probably more) trying to rid myself of the nastiness. I shoved my knuckles into my side trying to get it to go. I did finally manage to lose most of it and then faced a hill. It came back, but not as strong as initially. That pretty much just sucked.

I had my Nike+ with me and was happy to learn that it really was pretty accurate. At the two mile mark, I hit my middle button and it spit out that I had run 2.04 miles. I consider that to be pretty darn close. The actually race is an 8K (4.97 miles) and my Nike registered it as 5.09 miles. Considering that it registers distance by foot strike, I am considering that decently accurate. It throws the pace time off a bit, but I can deal with it. I will just make sure that I run an extra .02 per mile that I want to run. If I am planning a 5-miler, I need to run 5.15 miles to be sure I did get the actually mileage. Can deal with it.

I really do enjoy running outside and need to do it more often. In Wellsville I had a great route that I enjoyed running, but in Auburn I haven't found anything longer than 2 or 2.5 miles that is safe. Running outside is completely different, no matter how often you run inside trying to prepare. Treadmills aren't the same and tracks aren't the same. You can't factor wind. That freakin' wind.

I was really hoping to beat Katie today - not that I am competitive. I'm not. But in all of the runs that we've done, Katie has always dusted me. The bitch did it again today (and I mean that in the most affectionate way). We were running together and then before I knew it, I was birthing a cramp and trying to run a steady pace (which my Nike+ says I did) and Katie was gone! She came across the line something like three minutes before I did. I am going to work my ass off to not be so far behind at the Hornell Shamrock Race. Now it is probably on because she will know my race strategy. Pretty sure it won't make a difference anyway! I think that she would run with a broken foot and still push to the end. She has more determination and probably guts than a lot of people I know. That doesn't mean that I wouldn't like to cross the line before her someday, though! Oh...and I will....I hope...

Overall, I was pleased with how I ran today considering the wind, the cold air that my lungs aren't used to and the hills that my legs aren't used to. It isn't like the hills were enormous, but they had a decent distance to them (they were entrances to a bridge). It was enough to expend a little more energy. I was a little bummed because I had no idea where the finish was and I could have pushed a little harder a little earlier had I known that it was as close as it was. It's okay, though. I finished 406/1436. Not too bad. At least I was in the top half of the pack! Granted, there were walkers and probably some drunks, but again...who cares?

I would like to give special thanks to the following for pulling me through the run:
Queen - Fat Bottomed Girls
Spiderbait - Black Betty (twice!)
Pat Benator - Heartbreaker
Kid Rock - Bawitdaba
Miranda Lambert - Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Jay-Z - 30 Something (because 30 IS the new 20)
Def Leppard - Let's Get Rocked
AC/DC - Thunderstruck
P. Diddy - Tell Me

Random and bizarre mix. Not really a classic rock kind of girl, but apparently I am when running!

I am seriously pooped from being out in the cold. When I got home I took Mags out and then came in, poured a glass of wine, and hopped into a bubble bath with John Mayer. Enjoyable. I always finish a bath with a shower to get the gunk off (aka soap). So, here I am in the shower and I hear a pounding on my door. I am trying to enjoy my shower. Maggie is barking and the banging isn't stopping. I get out, try to dry off and head to the door to peek through the peep hole to see who it was. The downstairs neighbor. Thankfully, the FEMALE downstairs neighbor.

She proceeds to tell me that she has water gushing through her ceiling. I have no idea why. I didn't overflow the bathtub, although I did have it as full as I could without it all draining out the top drain. I can't imagine that there was that much water that leaked, but apparently so. So, here I am in the hallway with a towel on my head and mismatched jammies trying to figure out what's going on in the middle of a small crowd that has gathered at this point.

The female downstairs neighbor is very nice, by the way. I am not sure what she is doing with el jerko, but to each their own, I guess. Just for good measure as she was walking away I was sure to ask if we were being quiet enough and if the music was too loud. She said, "Shoot girl! I love your music! You make my day! You keep on playing your music!" Okay then. I guess I will.

So here I sit on the couch - clean, warm, and with a glass of wine. Pretty good day, overall, I would say!

I am "expressive"! Imagine that!

Today was the first day of a "staff development" experience called People Styles. A few weeks ago we had to have people complete a questionnaire about how they see us. From these profiles, they came up with four quadrants that a person could fall into and then sub quadrants of those first quadrants. So, anyway I am an amiable expressive personality style. What does that mean one may ask? Well.... Here is a description:

Expressive - Very outgoing and enthusiastic, with a high energy level. They are also great idea generators, but usually do not have the ability to see the idea through to completion. They enjoy helping others and are particularly fond of socializing. They are usually slow to reach a decision. Often thought of as a talker, overly dramatic, impulsive, and manipulative.

Some other descriptors:

verbal
motivating
enthusiastic
convincing
impulsive
influential
charming
confident
dramatic
optimistic
animated

I'm not sure how I feel about the word "manipulative." I guess that I do have to manipulate situations sometimes to meet objectives and goals. Is it my fault that people can't just do things that need to be done without acting like asses. They give me no choice, really.

We have another day of this training crap tomorrow.

Had another decent run tonight. I can't seem to break the 30 minute 5K mark, unless my Nike+ is still not calibrated correctly. I felt like the road runner tonight and still logged a 31 minute 5K. Oy vay!

Tomorrow will be no run in an effort to rest the legs for Saturday. I am excited to do a "race" again. God knows that I will not be in the running (no pun intended) for an age group medal, so for me it really isn't a race. It is just a run with a lot of other people around me! Should be fun!

Just what is my style, anyway?

I've been super busy at work the last couple of days and haven't had much time to blog. I also haven't been taking my computer home at night, which is when I typically post.

Anyway, today and tomorrow we have to suffer through workshops called "People Styles" where they are going to tell me what kind of person I am based on a self-assessment and assessemnets from five other people. Can I hardly wait?

I got an email from the U of R admissions yesterday. Decision letters will be sent by March 19. I hope it comes a bit sonner than that, though.

Off to Canandaigua... Will hopefully post more tonight!